Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro (Betheena Unite)
Malacañang said the issuance of additional International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants is “expected,” noting that more alleged co-perpetrators have been identified in the case against former President Rodrigo Duterte over his administration’s war on drugs campaign.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said over the weekend that it expects more ICC arrest warrants to be released soon.
"Ang pagsasabi po ng maaaring magkaroon pa ng pag-isyu ng warrants of arrest ay expected ito dahil marami pa pong mga co-perpetrators (The statement that there may still be additional arrest warrants issued is expected, as there are still many co-perpetrators)," Palace Press Officer and Communications (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a briefing on Monday, May 25.
However, at present, Castro said no information has been provided indicating that any warrant is forthcoming.
The government's stance on the matter, Castro added, remains, and it will continue to take action according to the law.
"Kung anuman ang stance ng gobyerno sa ngayon, ganoon pa rin po ang ipapatupad (Whatever the government’s current stance is, that will continue to be implemented)," Castro said.
When asked what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the incident in the Senate in connection to the arrest warrant against Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa will not happen again, Castro said the government will only enforce the law and will not violate any rule.
"Actually, hindi naman siya magulo kung walang nagpagulo. Well, anyway, kung ano po ang mandato ng DOJ (Department of Justice) at nang naaayon sa batas, iyon lamang po at walang iba-violate na rules ang ating gobyerno (Actually, it wouldn’t be chaotic if no one made it chaotic. Well, anyway, the DOJ will only act according to its mandate and in accordance with the law; the government will not violate any rules)," Castro said.